From One Ridiculously Famous Teen Star to Another
Acknowledgments:
Though I wish I could take credit for "Yensid," it is not mine. The name comes from the 1996 Nickolodeon show, Space Cases. When the actress who played Catalina left to star in a Disney show, she was replaced by the character of Suzee, whose actress came from a Disney show. The character's home dimension was known as Yensid, which is Disney spelled backwards. And most humorously, Catalina ended up in Yensid.
Obviously, I cannot take credit for the BSC and its characters. Dur.
Also, I cannot exactly take credit for the idea of Rosie and Derek working in show biz together. I credit the marvelous RPG game (to which I belonged), New Stoneybrook. Thanks go out to Angelina, Lauren, Denise, and Sandy for their wonderful characters.
Premiers were so tiring. Rosie gladly retreated to her dressing room to attack the plate of sandwiches, bakery cookies, and Diet Cokes that she had been forbidden to touch hours earlier that day. She did not care if she gained ten pounds after gorging herself today. With any luck, diets would soon be a thing of the past; this was the last premier, afterall. She happily spread extra mayonnaise on the sandwich before bringing the tasty morsel to her lips.
She was mid-bite when the door swung open to reveal her co-star and childhood friend, Derek Masters. He smiled broadly, showing off the grin that matched the one stuck to the wall beside the door. In the gigantic poster, Rosie and Derek were shown hand in hand, dressed impeccably in red and white. The title – JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL – was stretched over their heads in ostentatious lettering. In the background, several members of various minority groups danced around them.
"Thought about selling your soul again for the sequel?" he asked, grinning cheekily. He grabbed three of her sandwiches and shoved a whole one in his mouth. Turning a chair around, he plopped down right in front of her.
"Fwoughabouit?" She swallowed quickly. "That must have been the number one question on the red carpet. It took all the strength I had not to smart off about already being way too old to play a thirteen-year-old in this movie, much less to play one in a sequel."
"Lucky us," he said, not sarcastically.
"Besides, if our characters were in the sequel, they would have to call it High School Musical, and that was already done. Three times. I think we've just about succeeded in killing the whole franchise."
"My sole reason for doing it in the first place," Derek quipped.
"It was fun, though. Why weren't we ever co-stars before this?"
"Ah, the number one question I received on the red carpet," said Derek. "Why haven't the two breakout stars from Stoneybrook, Connecticut been seen together until now? They should have known it was only a matter of time since Yensid loves to recycle stars. I kind of though they were done with me after Living with Derek got such low ratings this season, which I did not say out there, by the way. But it looks like your star power was just what I needed for, what, my third comeback? Pretty crazy that I've had three comebacks before my eighteenth birthday, huh?"
Rosie smiled softly. "And I meant to tell you, happy early birthday. I guess I won't see you tomorrow since we'll both be flying out to different cities."
"Guess not," he said, a bit glumly. "Thanks, Ro. It really has been awesome. Kind of makes me sorry that there won't be a sequel. But, hey, that doesn't mean we won't be able to work together after this." He looked thoughtful as he took a huge bite out of his next sandwich.
"… Actually, it kind of does," Rosie said, meekly. Silence hung in the air for a moment. Derek looked surprised, but said nothing, so she continued. "You see, they wanted to renew Justine Case for another season, but I decided not to sign my contract."
"Whoa, seriously?" Derek exclaimed. "Your show is the most popular show on the whole network. I mean, yes, I agreed with you that it is complete and utter rip-off of The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, but I still say that no one under the age of twenty-two can recall ever seeing the show. Except for you, of course."
Rosie had to laugh. "To be so surprised, you sure do talk a lot, Der."
He grinned. "Well, that's part of my charm."
"But this will be great for Lillian," she said, a bit hesitantly. Lillian was the lucky no-name actress who played her clueless-but-loveable sidekick on the show. "There's talk of a spin-off starring Bess. Bess Knows Best, they want to call it. I think it'll be a big hit. And who knows, I might be a guest star when Justine comes to visit for an episode or two. I haven't really decided yet."
"Is this guest star thing your idea or someone else's?" Derek inquired. When Rosie looked away and did not immediately answer him, he continued. "Because if you want to do that, go for it. But if they just want to use you to get ratings for the new show, that isn't right. From one ridiculously famous teen star to another, you need to be in charge of your own life."
A warm feeling came over her when he said that. She felt like she had a big brother looking after her. "Thank you, Derek," she said, sincerely. "What I would really like is to return to Stoneybrook this summer before I go off to college in the fall. I was thinking of applying to NYU. And, well, if guest starring on Lillian's show fits into that scenario, great. If not… oh, well."
"The tabloids and I will miss you," said Derek, as he polished off the last of his sandwiches. "The rumor these days is that our relationship is trouble, Ro. Undoubtedly, when you leave the scene, they'll try to pair me with Lillian and thereby create a bitter rivalry between the two of you."
"Oh, really?" She snickered. "I sure hope so. That sounds hilarious. You know, I think you could write these things for a living if acting doesn't work out for you." She gleefully handed him a stack of chocolate cookies.
"Ah, I'm counting on it," he said, jumping up from his seat to take the treat. He rewarded her with a gentle kiss on her freckled cheek. "See you around, Ro."
She touched her cheek and smiled as the door closed behind him. "Yeah."